CHAPTER XIII. 



THE DACE. 



THIS handsome white fish is the type of the leucisci family, which 

 includes the chub, roach, rudd, azurine or blue roach, bleak, and minnow. 

 Its similarity to the chub not unfrequently leads the tyro to confound the- 

 two, and I have several times had to correct even experienced anglers in 

 this matter. The small fish of each kind are indeed so remarkably alike 

 as to be quite indistinguishable, unless these simple facts are borne in 

 mind the ventral or belly fins of the dace are greenish, with a slight 

 tinge of red ; the anal has no red about it whatever ; in the chub all 

 these fins are of a brilliant pink colour. 



Leudscus vulgaris (the dace) abounds in nearly all the quiet clear 

 streams in the south qf England, in many of which no trout or salmon 

 are to be found, as well as the large rivers of both England and Wales. 

 The Thames and Colne are, however, the most famous for this fish. Ted- 

 dington Weir is historically celebrated. The fish is in full season in 

 October, November, December, and January, and many a good bag of fish 

 may be taken in these months, when otherwise no sport is to be had. 



The spawning season is in early summer, and the prolificacy of the 

 fish is enormous. The ova are of a yellowish- white colour, and some- 

 what large in proportion to the size of the fish, being in a large dace 

 as large as a mustard seed. I observe that the size and colour of the 

 eggs vary somewhat in dace from different localities. The agility of the 

 fish is very great, and protects it from its enemies very materially. 

 Nevertheless, the pike has a great penchant for the dace, as I have before 

 indicated. 



Writers on fishing dismiss this handsome fish with but scant notice, a 

 course manifestly unfair, when its game qualities are borne in mind. Its 

 strength, size for size, is equal to that of the chub, and its cunning is 

 but little inferior ; whilst, personally, I am inclined to elevate its stamina 



